tropycal.recon.RealtimeRecon¶

class tropycal.recon.RealtimeRecon(hours=6)[source]¶

Creates an instance of a RealtimeRecon object.

Parameters: hours (int) – Number of hours to search back for recon missions. Default is 6 hours. Max allowed is 48 hours.
Returns: RealtimeRecon – Instance of a RealtimeRecon object.

Notes

Warning

RealtimeRecon data is retrieved directly through NHC’s archive, though this source can lag by up to 40 minutes compared to the very latest recon data available directly on their website.

The RealtimeRecon Class and accompanying Mission class make up the realtime part of the recon module. Unlike the ReconDataset Class and its accompanying hdobs, dropsondes and vdms classes which are storm-centric, the realtime recon functionality is mission-centric.

This mission-centric functionality means realtime recon missions lack the storm-centering functionality that the more comprehensive full recon functionality has, but is also much faster at reading recon data for realtime purposes and includes non-tropical cyclone recon missions.

The following example shows how to use realtime recon functionality. First, create an instance of RealtimeRecon, which retrieves all active missions within the specified hour window (default is the most recent 6 hours):

from tropycal import recon
realtime_obj = recon.RealtimeRecon()

We can now quickly retrieve a list of all active mission IDs:

>>> realtime_obj.get_mission_ids()
['AF306-0801A-ALEX', 'AF303-0901A-ALEX']

Now use the get_mission() method to retrieve a Mission object containing all available data (HDOBs, VDMs & dropsondes) for this mission. The resulting object can access all of the methods and attributes of the Mission class.

mission = realtime_obj.get_mission('AF303-0901A-ALEX')

Methods Summary

RealtimeRecon.get_hdobs_realtime(basin, aircraft)

Retrieve the latest 10-minute HDOBs directly from NHC.

RealtimeRecon.get_hdobs_summary()

Retrieve the latest 10-minute HDOBs for all missions.

RealtimeRecon.get_mission(mission_id)

Retrieve a Mission object given the mission ID.

RealtimeRecon.get_mission_ids([storm_name])

Retrieve a list of all active mission IDs.

RealtimeRecon.update()

Updates RealtimeRecon with the latest available data.